Ellen DeGeneres: "I am Not Taking Paula's Place On American Idol"2010-01-07
Ellen DeGeneres has already set a few ground rules for her upcoming first season as an "American Idol" judge. First on her list: Contestants shouldn't talk back to her fellow panelist Simon Cowell.
"When you give your feedback, Simon, and somebody talks back to you, that's one thing that I just don't think I would tolerate," DeGeneres said in her first joint interview with Cowell in this week's issue of Entertainment Weekly. Not that he needs someone to come to his rescue, but DeGeneres has preemptively offered to back up her new co-worker. "It's unbelievable that people don't have any respect. They go on a show, they know they're going to be judged, that's what the entire show is about, and yet they tell you you're wrong. It's just rude and disrespectful and not OK. So that's not going to happen on my dime."
DeGeneres, who will not appear on the initial try-out rounds of "Idol" that kick off next Tuesday (January 12), told the magazine how she ended up taking the fourth slot on the panel and why she doesn't feel like she's replacing departed original judge Paula Abdul.
"My manager and agent called and said, 'There's interest. Is there interest on your side?' And I said, 'Yeah!' " explained DeGeneres, who will continue to do her popular daytime talker while sitting in with "Idol."
"I'm a huge fan of the show, but I didn't think for a second, 'Oh, Paula's gone; now I'll do this.' It didn't even occur to me. I was really surprised it didn't get out, because we talked about it for a while."
As she pulls double-duty, Ellen will have the advantage of inside scoop on each ousted contestant, though she said anything that could potentially hurt "Idol" will be off-limits on her talk show. "I don't want to give anything away," she said. "And if someone's a real jerk, I'm not going to expose them. I may change my mind if they really are a jerk."
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